We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jack Gross a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Jack, thanks for joining us today. Do you feel you or your work has ever been misunderstood or mischaracterized? If so, tell us the story and how/why it happened and if there are any interesting learnings or insights you took from the experience?

Ever since I arrived in Austin in the fall of 2019 I’ve felt there’s been a constant struggle to represent who I am. I was a reserved and shy 18 year old who assumed everyone around him in film school was far ahead of him. While I went to UT’s (University of Texas) film school with the singular goal of being a filmmaker/director, I soon realized I was a small fish in a large pond – a pond where everyone and their moms wanted to be filmmakers. No longer was it a novelty to want to make films, it was an expectation. Pretty quickly I convinced myself I’d be content just writing scripts, and then even that fell to the wayside, and I found myself setting my sights on film and media studies. I’d tell myself I’m not a filmmaker, I just like watching films, therefore I should be content with simply writing about them. Or, if I may, as Mitski sings in her seminal ‘Class of 2013’ song: “…I’ll leave what I’m chasing…For the other girls to pursue.”

During this time I was still directing small projects with friends for class. The itch to be a filmmaker was certainly…itchy? But once again, I had convinced myself it wasn’t for me – that I didn’t have “what it takes.” (whatever that means). I also worked on a lot of film sets during this time. I worked as a grip, a script supervisor, a camera assistant, a production assistant, a boom operator, an assistant director, even a producer. I think because of this, mixed with my outward trepidation, no one viewed me as a filmmaker, or a director, and deep down that hurt.

It wasn’t until Spring of my Junior year, after multiple microfilms and a large handful of sets, that I took an advanced narrative class and was given the opportunity to write and direct my own short film. The experience was wonderful (and taxing). It finally felt as though I was doing the work I always wanted to do. Following that semester, I directed two more shorts, and after graduation, I went on to direct music videos, short films, and I’m currently directing a web series.

When I look back on my initial years at UT, I see someone completely and helplessly unsure of themselves. And I think deep down people could sense that, and me not being a filmmaker became a self-fulfilling prophecy. Only after I stopped caring about how others viewed me, and challenged myself to make a film did I really start gaining the confidence to do what I love.

Jack, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I grew up in Spring, TX, a sleepy suburban area north of Houston. Every Sunday, instead of church or brunch (or whatever people normally do on Sundays), my father would take me to the movies. We’d watch all movies, good ones, bad ones, blockbusters, random indie films. It didn’t really matter to us, as long as it was a movie we could see in theaters we’d give it a chance. This is where my love for film was developed, and from then on my passion for film has influenced most of the decisions I’ve made. My first job was at a movie theater, and I’d use all of my paychecks to purchase cheap film gear. Throughout high school any time we were assigned a group project I’d convince the teacher to let me turn in a video project. I created clubs in high school that were dedicated to either watching films or making films. When it was time to go to college, it was a no brainer that I’d major in Film.

I went to the University of Texas at Austin, where I double majored in Film and English. Freshmen year of college I created a film oriented instagram page (@popcornphilosphy) where I’d post arthouse film memes as well as film essays and lists. The account amassed over 25k followers and I got the opportunity to talk with prominent directors and do brand deals with an indie streaming service called MUBI. I had various film internships throughout college as well, including work for Austin Film Festival and Austin Film Society. I also directed a handful of narrative films, some of which played at festivals and won awards.

After graduating film school in the spring of 2023, I started working as a freelance director. Since then I’ve directed 5 music videos, a short film, and am currently working on my most ambitious project to date: a four part narrative web series. I was also fortunate enough to recently start working with a PR agency, Giant Noise, where I work full time as their in-house videographer and editor.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

I’ve always viewed my passion for filmmaking as an invaluable gift. In my experience, most people don’t have an overarching passion driving them forward in life. I’ve found that most people find solace in their free time but don’t have an intangible force propelling them towards something bigger. I think this is something creatives do have – nothing gives someone more purpose in live than passion. So for me, being able to pursue my passion, however daunting and challenging it may be, is a gift I feel as though I’d be stupid to pass up on. I feel as though it’d be a great disservice to myself if I didn’t continue on my creative journey, and that mindset (among others) is what keeps me going.

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

In college I read Albert Camus’ The Myth of Sisyphus, and it has greatly changed the way I perceive myself, the world around me, and the notion of “purpose.” Without summarizing the whole text, the essential essence of the long essay is to posit that true purpose in life is only found in the search for purpose. In other words, to find something you can do everyday that gives you a greater sense of purpose, no matter how small or menial, is where you can actually derive purpose. For me, I found filmmaking as the one task or action I can do everyday that fills me with feelings of purpose and achievement. This essay by Camus impacted me so much I actually got a tattoo of Sisyphus on my left arm.

Contact Info:

• Website: jackgross,myportfolio.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jackgross17/

Image Credits

Erica Grifaldo, Zachariah Williams